Company Blog

July 9, 2015

Windows 10 is coming!

Windows 10 will be launching on July 29, but it's not likely to be available for all types of devices right away. Microsoft has planned a phased approach with Windows 10, making it available for desktop and laptop computers first, then adding phones and other Microsoft devices later. Windows 10 will be free for existing Windows 7 and 8.1 users for the first year. After the first year, or if you're running a version older than Windows 7, Windows 10 Home will cost $119 and Windows 10 Pro will cost $199.

Windows 10 will be available in 7 versions. IoT (Internet of Things), Mobile, Home, Enterprise, and Professional have already been confirmed. Mobile Enterprise and Education are expected to follow. In comparison, there were only four versions of Windows 8.1 (five if you include Windows Phone 8) and one of them was Windows RT.

Windows 10 features the return of the Start menu by merging the traditional Windows 7 interface and Windows 8 Live Tiles which should please both mouse and touch users. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel will also be available as Windows 10 apps. Like the rest of Windows 10, these apps are designed to work on Windows 10 laptops, tablets, and phones. Windows 10 will also introduce Cortana, Microsoft's competitor to Siri and Google Now. Microsoft describes Cortana as being less about retrieving information and more about devices becoming smarter over time based on user behavior.

Of course, this is old news to Redcort Software's engineers who have been using the Windows 10 Technical Preview since it’s release in 2014.